Mark 8
World English Bible
8 In those days, when there was a very great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to himself and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have stayed with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come a long way.”
4 His disciples answered him, “From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?”
5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They said, “Seven.”
6 He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves. Having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to serve, and they served the multitude. 7 They also had a few small fish. Having blessed them, he said to serve these also. 8 They ate and were filled. They took up seven baskets of broken pieces that were left over. 9 Those who had eaten were about four thousand. Then he sent them away.
10 Immediately he entered into the boat with his disciples and came into the region of Dalmanutha. 11 The Pharisees came out and began to question him, seeking from him a sign from heaven and testing him. 12 He sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation[a] seek a sign? Most certainly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
13 He left them, and again entering into the boat, departed to the other side. 14 They forgot to take bread; and they didn’t have more than one loaf in the boat with them. 15 He warned them, saying, “Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
16 They reasoned with one another, saying, “It’s because we have no bread.”
17 Jesus, perceiving it, said to them, “Why do you reason that it’s because you have no bread? Don’t you perceive yet or understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, don’t you see? Having ears, don’t you hear? Don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?”
They told him, “Twelve.”
20 “When the seven loaves fed the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?”
They told him, “Seven.”
21 He asked them, “Don’t you understand yet?”
22 He came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23 He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village. When he had spat on his eyes, and laid his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything.
24 He looked up, and said, “I see men, but I see them like walking trees.”
25 Then again he laid his hands on his eyes. He looked intently, and was restored, and saw everyone clearly. 26 He sent him away to his house, saying, “Don’t enter into the village, nor tell anyone in the village.”
27 Jesus went out, with his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?”
28 They told him, “John the Baptizer, and others say Elijah, but others, one of the prophets.”
29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”
30 He commanded them that they should tell no one about him. 31 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke to them openly. Peter took him and began to rebuke him. 33 But he, turning around and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter, and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you have in mind not the things of God, but the things of men.”
34 He called the multitude to himself with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Good News will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? 37 For what will a man give in exchange for his life? 38 For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Footnotes
- 8:12 The word translated “generation” here (genea) could also be translated “people”, “race”, or “family”.
Mark 8
Living Bible
8 1-2 One day about this time as another great crowd gathered, the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples to discuss the situation.
“I pity these people,” he said, “for they have been here three days and have nothing left to eat. 3 And if I send them home without feeding them, they will faint along the road! For some of them have come a long distance.”
4 “Are we supposed to find food for them here in the desert?” his disciples scoffed.
5 “How many loaves of bread do you have?” he asked.
“Seven,” they replied. 6 So he told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces and passed them to his disciples; and the disciples placed them before the people. 7 A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to serve them.
8-9 And the whole crowd ate until they were full, and afterwards he sent them home. There were about 4,000 people in the crowd that day and when the scraps were picked up after the meal, there were seven very large basketfuls left over!
10 Immediately after this he got into a boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
11 When the local Jewish leaders learned of his arrival, they came to argue with him.[a]
“Do a miracle for us,” they said. “Make something happen in the sky. Then we will believe in you.”
12 He sighed deeply when he heard this and he said, “Certainly not. How many more miracles do you people need?”[b]
13 So he got back into the boat and left them, and crossed to the other side of the lake. 14 But the disciples had forgotten to stock up on food before they left and had only one loaf of bread in the boat.
15 As they were crossing, Jesus said to them very solemnly, “Beware of the yeast of King Herod and of the Pharisees.”
16 “What does he mean?” the disciples asked each other. They finally decided that he must be talking about their forgetting to bring bread.
17 Jesus realized what they were discussing and said, “No, that isn’t it at all! Can’t you understand? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18 ‘Your eyes are to see with—why don’t you look? Why don’t you open your ears and listen?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?
19 “What about the 5,000 men I fed with five loaves of bread? How many basketfuls of scraps did you pick up afterwards?”
“Twelve,” they said.
20 “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how much was left?”
“Seven basketfuls,” they said.
21 “And yet you think I’m worried that we have no bread?”[c]
22 When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch and heal him. 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and spat upon his eyes, and laid his hands over them.
“Can you see anything now?” Jesus asked him.
24 The man looked around. “Yes!” he said, “I see men! But I can’t see them very clearly; they look like tree trunks walking around!”
25 Then Jesus placed his hands over the man’s eyes again and as the man stared intently, his sight was completely restored, and he saw everything clearly, drinking in the sights around him.
26 Jesus sent him home to his family. “Don’t even go back to the village first,” he said.
27 Jesus and his disciples now left Galilee and went out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along he asked them, “Who do the people think I am? What are they saying about me?”
28 “Some of them think you are John the Baptist,” the disciples replied, “and others say you are Elijah or some other ancient prophet come back to life again.”
29 Then he asked, “Who do you think I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.” 30 But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone!
31 Then he began to tell them about the terrible things he would suffer,[d] and that he would be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the other Jewish leaders—and be killed, and that he would rise again three days afterwards. 32 He talked about it quite frankly with them, so Peter took him aside and chided him.[e] “You shouldn’t say things like that,” he told Jesus.
33 Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then said to Peter very sternly, “Satan, get behind me! You are looking at this only from a human point of view and not from God’s.”
34 Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. “If any of you wants to be my follower,” he told them, “you must put aside your own pleasures and shoulder your cross, and follow me closely. 35 If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.
36 “And how does a man benefit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul in the process? 37 For is anything worth more than his soul? 38 And anyone who is ashamed of me and my message in these days of unbelief and sin, I, the Messiah,[f] will be ashamed of him when I return in the glory of my Father, with the holy angels.”
Footnotes
- Mark 8:11 to argue with him, literally, “to test him.”
- Mark 8:12 How many more miracles do you people need? literally, “Why does this generation seek a sign?”
- Mark 8:21 And yet you think I’m worried that we have no bread? literally, “Do you not yet understand?”
- Mark 8:31 he would suffer, literally, “the Son of Man would suffer.”
- Mark 8:32 chided him, “began to rebuke him.”
- Mark 8:38 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”
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